


We'll Take Care Of Each Other

by SykoShadowRose



Series: Love and Care Together [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Caretaking, Dating, Fluff, Found Family, Humor, M/M, Supportive Adult Figures, past canonical character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23277190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SykoShadowRose/pseuds/SykoShadowRose
Summary: Qrow's finally dating Clover and it's beautiful. Even better is that his kids fully approve of the relationship. In between dates he helps out when he's needed.(Follow-up to Caring For Me By Caring For You but can be read as a stand alone.)
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Love and Care Together [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1676347
Comments: 20
Kudos: 114





	We'll Take Care Of Each Other

**Author's Note:**

> You know I used the pet name Baby Bird for Qrow in my TaiQrow fic and since then I read two FairGame fics where Clover called Qrow Baby Bird. I don't know if they read my story or if someone else finally realized it was a cute and sweet pet name for Qrow but I feel like I started something...

Qrow gave himself a once over. It had been ages since he’d last been on a date and despite himself he was nervous. He wasn’t sure he was properly dressed but he wasn’t good with formal wear anyways. The sleek black pants and maroon satin long sleeve shirt with the open collar flashing his clavicle would have to pass. Hopefully. He’d kept all his rings and even put his old necklace back on. Brushing back his hair away from his face, Qrow deemed himself as ready as he’d ever be and left his quarters to meet with Clover. Not far from the common room he heard familiar voices and slowed a few paces. The spy in him took over for a few moments, demanding that he gather information before going into the unknown situation.

“-nything suddenly shatters or spontaneously combusts then you take responsibility! You asked him out!”

The spy was gone, replaced by the exasperated uncle. _Really Ruby?_ Qrow lifted a hand to cover his eyes as if that would change the fact that his seventeen year old niece was trying to give his date (who was around twice her age) a stern talking to. Resisting the urge to burst out laughing or just turn around and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist the lithe hunter entered the common room with a scowl. Ruby (well-meaning, loving, meddlesome brat that she was) gave him a slightly sheepish grin before she wished them a good night and darted down the hall to her own room in a flash of rose petals in a hasty escape. 

The hunter turned to apologize to his date but stopped short at the look Clover was giving him. Not that he was probably doing any better. The soldier was wearing nice grey slacks and a forest green button up with the sleeves rolled up and the top few buttons undone. The slight stretch of the shirt emphasized the broadness of his shoulders and made up for the fact that the sleeves existed at all. Qrow wasn’t even surprised to see a simple chain necklace with a silver four-leaf clover on it. All in all he looked good. Qrow shifted nervously, walking a little closer. He could feel the awkwardness rising again as he struggled to find something to say. “Civvies suit you.” _Good job, self. At least it was a full sentence…_

“And you look gorgeous.” 

Gods, they weren’t even out of the common room and Qrow could already feel his heart racing as his cheeks warmed. Clover could have at least _pretended_ to hesitate like he was searching for something to say. But nope. He knew exactly what he wanted to say and hadn’t waited to say it. Now Qrow was left flustered and trying not to show it too much. He needed to distract the brunette. “So, where are we going?”

_That should do it._

Clover’s face lit up and he reached out to take Qrow’s hand, leading him away from the rooms. “It’s a small family restaurant. They have amazing food.” Qrow allowed himself to be pulled along, listening to the other tell him all about the place they were going with an excitement he found endearing. Maybe the night would be better than he feared. It put a little grin on his face to think that maybe for once he wouldn’t have to be too concerned about his semblance. It might still act up, but with Clover around he didn’t expect the worst out of it tonight.

~

The place they went to was nice but not overly fancy. He was sure Clover did that on purpose since he knew how Qrow felt about formal things. The food was as fantastic as Clover claimed and the two were now deciding on dessert. It was a difficult thing to do with how hard Clover was laughing though.

“Seriously!?”

“Yep. I even swiped a copy of the footage from the cameras in the cafeteria. You’d have thought those kids were in a fight to the death instead of just a food fight. Nora even nailed Yang with a chicken and sent her flying through the roof. She didn’t come back down until after Ruby won the battle and Glynda fixed everything.” It was a video he had watched more than once, though he had it hidden in his scroll and locked against prying eyes. Part of him wanted to share the recording with the kids but… It had been over a year and he wasn’t sure if that was enough time to deal with the loss of Pyrrha. It might make them happy to have a memento of the girl but he feared opening old wounds that weren’t healed enough to take it.

“You’ll have to show me some time, if you don’t mind.” Clover’s warm voice brought him back and he smiled. “I think the closest we ever got to something like that was a mass pillow fight in the sorting barracks before we were assigned teams.”

Qrow laughed, recalling a story Ruby had shared of a pillow fight her team had one night back at their dorm in Beacon. “Doesn’t seem very Atlas to have a pillow fight.”

“It isn’t. It was actually someone from Vale who started the whole thing. Luna was a crazy little thing. Wasn’t even five and a half foot tall but he got all offended- rightly so- when some asshole tweaked his tail. Blaze was close to seven foot and from Mistral if I remember right. So any way, the guy walked up as we were all bedding down and grabbed his tail and the first thing Luna does is grab his pillow with both hands and spin so hard he actually sent the guy flying back with the force of it. Didn’t even look back to see who had done it before he swung. Knocked several of the beds out of alignment and upset the people trying to sleep on them. Blaze came back at him like he was going to swing a fist but see, I didn’t like him picking on the guy so I threw my pillow at his face and knocked him back down. Some of his friends got involved on his behalf and one thing led to another…Next morning Blaze was told he couldn’t join the academy until the next year because of the fight.”

Qrow raised his eyebrows at that surprising news. “I would have thought Luna would be the one in trouble since he started it and he was a faunus.”

Clover grinned. “Yeah but he was smart. Pillows don’t count as weapons- fists do. And Blaze was trying to fistfight while Luna only ever swung a pillow. There was literally nothing they could do against him that wouldn’t make it blatantly obvious that they were attacking him for being a faunus. It was beautiful.”

“Sounds like quite a guy. Were you friends? You sound like you knew him pretty well.”

“Oh yeah. He was my partner through the academy. Me, Luna, Violet, and Royal.” He smiled at the memory, fighting off the sadness that came with remembering the members of his old team that were dead.

“CLVR?” Qrow smirked.

A slight flush colored the soldiers cheeks. “Fairly common practice for teams to be named after their team leaders when they can be. Robyn led Team RBIN.”

Qrow shook his head, confused again about Atlas’ customs. At Beacon the new students had what equated to a giant sleepover in a grand hall before their crazy initiation. Apparently at Atlas they were put into soldier barracks and assigned teams to make the names how they wanted them. Between the two he preferred Beacon’s approach. Taught the kids that fate could only be controlled so much and that sometimes they needed to roll with it and make the most of the hand they were dealt. He and Tai had made their partnership work despite their differences for four years and even after all these years he wouldn't have changed any of it.

“So have you decided on a dessert?” The two jolted at the voice of the waitress, both offering apologetic smiles. They hadn’t even realized she was standing there.

“Um. The chocolate cherry cake please.” Qrow threw out the only one that really seemed to appeal to him at the moment from the list. He wished his favorite truffles were served and resisted pouting about it. Clover was spoiling him with them and the tall bastard wasn’t even ashamed to admit it. If anything the brunette seemed smug about it. Probably because anytime Qrow wanted some (which was often) he sidled up to Clover’s side and batted his eyes. It was probably inappropriate but Qrow didn’t give a damn as long as he got his chocolate. 

“Carrot cake for me thank you.” Clover gave the woman a charming smile and waited for her to walk away before turning his attention back to his date.

“Funny. You don’t strike me as the carrot cake type.” Qrow tried not to let his bemusement show.

“Yeah? What do I look like to you then?” He leaned forward, playfully curious about the answer.

“Hmmm… Apple pie I suppose.” The ebony fighter cocked his head to the side as he considered the other. His answer was a warm laugh.

“Strawberry over apple.” Clover sat back in his chair, taking a drink of his juice. “You strike me as a fruit person though. Yet you obviously love chocolate.”

“I love both actually. Which fruit depends on my mood though.” He smiled warmly, wondering idly if he should spring his shapeshifting abilities now or keep it for another time. Later, he decided. The conversation continued to drift from topic to topic as they finished their dessert and followed up dinner with a walk through a park on the way back. 

They finally arrived back to the common room, parting ways with a whispered good night and a promise to see each other the next day on the mission. Before he went down the hall to his room Qrow pressed another kiss to the corner of Clover’s mouth, leaving the taller man grinning after him as he walked backwards towards his quarters.

~

“The key is awareness.” Qrow rolled the hollow glass orb down the back of his hand to his elbow, rolling his arm down and under the orb to let it flow back down his forearm to his palm. He lightly tossed it over to his other hand, letting it come to his wrist and dipping so that he was moving his wrist around the orb while it stayed exactly where it was. “You always have to be aware of how much force you are putting behind a movement, how much strength you use to grab something.” He came to a stop, allowing the glass to rest in his palm. Holding it out, vermillion eyes meet solemn vert.

Penny moved with deliberate slowness as she reached out to take the orb from him. She grimaced and ducked her head as it shattered under her fingers. The man shrugged and tossed the remains of the glass to the side, leaning down to pluck another out of a waiting box. Face tightening in determination, the mechanical huntress lifted her hand again. This time the glass stayed intact. There were fine cracks where she gripped it but it didn’t break. She allowed herself a grin. Taking a deep breath to brace herself Penny tried to mimic what Qrow had done. Her lips pursed as she tossed with too much force and the ball went flying into a wall of the training room. The hunter held another one out to her. This time she caught it too tightly. Another one was held out. She could do it. She just needed to practice.

Qrow watched her try to complete the simple routine, picking up another orb whenever one broke for her. There was a certain sense of familiarity standing here, teaching the girl how to control how much strength she was using. He considered bringing Nora into the control training. Not only could that girl use some help but it may make Penny more comfortable to have a friend learning beside her. Maybe bring Yang in to help her through it. She’d gone through this same training when she was younger. Ruby too. Actually, there was no reason he couldn’t bring all the kids in on it. Turn it into a proper class. The training was good for agility as well after all. It had certainly taught him to move with a grace that often caught others by surprise.

The pile of shattered glass was growing larger but the ginger didn’t give up and he didn’t expect her to. Not with what had brought them here.

Ruby’s aura had shattered on the field but not because of the Grimm. Penny had only meant to move her friend out of the way of an oncoming attack. Unfortunately she used too much of her power and ended up breaking Ruby’s aura herself instead. She’d been horrified as she watched the red light scatter off of the fallen form and had ended up nearly taking the hit instead in her frozen state if Qrow hadn’t killed the Grimm first. Jaune had been there at once, trying to help Ruby regenerate enough that she would be safe, but she’d still been forced to retreat from the fight early. Beyond the aura depletion she’d been unharmed and only needed sleep to recover but Penny obviously couldn’t stop thinking about it no matter how many times Ruby assured her everything was fine and she shouldn’t worry. Those green eyes never cleared, misted with the memory of her first and best friend’s aura breaking apart because she’d pushed too hard.

He could see her imagining all the things that could have happened. Everything that could have gone wrong. He knew that mindset intimately. Could hear the lianty of _“My fault! My fault! My Fault!”_ echoing in her head. Convincing her that she was the reason Ruby was hurt. That her friend would have been fine without her. Better even because then she wouldn’t have had her aura shattered at all. He knew the sinking feeling of drowning in that despair. Of taking blame that didn’t exist. That was why Qrow had approached her with the idea of this training session.

It was a lifeline to drag her out before she sank too deeply into the sea of darkness. A way to ensure what happened never happened again.

He knew when he’d first decided to wield a scythe that he’d need absolute control over himself and perfect awareness of his strength. Of course back then he’d only had a couple old rubber balls to practice with but it’d been a good start. It wasn’t until he’d finally started at Beacon that he’d been able to upgrade to glass orbs. He’d kept his training to himself without realizing it until Taiyang had happened across him once and asked to be taught, mesmerized by the grace and flow of Qrow’s movements. And maybe a bit envious at the time. He’d been a bit of a klutz, prone to breaking things accidentally because he used more strength than needed without meaning to. Teaching him had greatly improved his relationship with his teammates and his confidence when interacting with others once he no longer feared hurting them by accident. When Yang had first started showing her strength the older blond had called on him to teach the small girl how to control it. Naturally they’d decided that glass was too dangerous and had substituted for eggs instead. 

Qrow had put Ruby through the same training when she decided she wanted to wield a scythe. Rolling the ball was actually quite similar to rolling the handle of the weapon and she needed to learn the calm stillness that came with having absolute awareness and control over your own body. (She was still working on the calm part outside of sniping.) They’d started with rubber balls for her since she was training mostly for agility but switched to eggs later so that she would also learn to control the force of her swings. Yes. He was going to have to turn this into a proper class. They could all learn something for it. They could even invite Marrow and (possibly) the other Ace-Ops. Elm had given his shoulder a friendly slap the other day and nearly sent him flying. Including her sounded like an excellent idea. If she was willing anyways. He didn’t want to offend the woman but she really did need to know how to control herself better.

Qrow smiled proudly when Penny presented the glass orb to him. A fragile smile forming on her lips as she stared at her success. The ball was cracked and fractured- on the verge of shattering if he breathed too hard on it- but she’d made it through the whole routine with it intact. Once she’d mastered it then he could teach her more complicated ones. For now, he let her enjoy the victory of having accomplished the task he’d set her. Of knowing she could control herself if she tried hard enough.

~

Dressed casually Qrow wondered what had gotten into him lately. Pushing his luck with a second date. Tonight he’d gone with dark jeans and a grey graphic shirt that he’d picked because the design on the back was an elaborate dark red heart with black wings and a banner that said “Redemption” and on the front over his heart was a similarly colored and designed rose with a tilted black cross on it. It was probably a woman’s shirt judging by the tapered waist but it fit him and it was comfortable. He’d never believed that clothing gender bullshit anyways. He’d found out within the first day that he didn’t have to wear the girls’ uniform at Beacon. He’d still worn it for a week. If he liked something he was going to wear it and he didn’t care what anyone had to say about it. He readjusted his wristband as he headed to his door so he could meet Clover. They were going to meet outside of an arcade for this date, something simple but fun.

Qrow nearly jumped out of his skin when he opened the door to find several of his kids standing in the hall. Smiling faces crowded him back inside and he looked from one to another as he tried to figure out what was going on. Weiss stepped forward and grabbed his bare wrist. When she let go there was a three chain bracelet around it all three connected to an oval dark red tiger-eye stone on a decorated silver plate. Nora and Jaune slipped two new rings onto his bare hand and Ren slipped an ear cuff on his right ear. Yang stepped to the opposite side to thread a hook ear ring with red and black feathers in the hole he rarely used but never let fully close. When he was finally free to leave he was startled to find Penny and Marrow waiting in the common room. The huntress gave a shy smile and Marrow looked anxious but both held up the items they held for him to see. 

Fighting to stay calm and collected he lifted his chin so that Penny could wrap the choker around his neck. The black leather was cool against his skin and the back of the silver mirror metal pendant (broken mirror, his mind noticed with amusement) embedded in the center began to warm immediately against his neck. Once she stepped back she nudged her friend causing Marrow to shyly approach and place the gunmetal necklace around Qrow’s neck, the pendant of a crow perched inside a crescent moon resting just below the dip of his collar bone. Looking around he noticed all of the kids were now present, Oscar and Blake hovering nearby. 

Turning his focus on the two of them he held his arms out, ready for them to add whatever they felt was needed. Oscar walked up with a belt (black with glittering red stones embedded around it, the crow in him noticed) and threaded it through the loops. When he was done he stepped back without fastening it, which made sense when Blake walked up with a belt buckle. It was relatively small, thankfully, though he held back a laugh that it was a curled up black cat. He wasn’t sure if that was because she was a black cat faunus or because they seemed to be playing up the bad luck charms (given the broken mirror around his throat) but either way it was cute. All that was left was Ruby, who waited patiently for evey one else to step back.

Once the path was clear she went to his right hip and clipped something on the belt loop just in front of his hip and then just behind his hip. When he looked down he saw a silver chandelier chain draping around his hip decorated with red and black gems. It accentuated his narrow hips- possibly more than he intended to ever in combination with the belt emphasizing his slender waist but he was sure Clover would appreciate it. Taking in all the little things that they’d done he gave a wavering smile and hugged the ones he could reach. Before long he could feel all of them around him.

“Thank you. All of you. So much.” He really needed to get going to meet up with Clover but surely the brunette would understand if he was a little late. It was for a good reason after all. His flock was giving their approval in the best way they possibly could.

~

“Clover?” Qrow was beginning to worry about the operative. Stepping closer he rested a hand on the man’s (strong, muscular, built- focus Qrow!) chest to make sure he was still breathing and had a heartbeat. The man had been staring at him without blinking for far too long. He looked the other over for any injuries. Clover was wearing a sleeveless aquamarine shirt with a wide collar, the clover necklace back around his neck. There was no bruising that he could see. Qrow frowned and ran his hand down his ribs, feeling for any tender spots. He fought not to squawk when large tanned hands caught his wrists. Glancing back up he found an impressive blush on his boyfriend’s face. 

Clover cleared his throat. “Sorry, sorry. I’m fine. Really. Just.” He took a deep breath, looking Qrow over again. The lith hunter felt himself blush. “Just. _Wow._ ”

Smiling shyly, Qrow hooked a finger in the belt loop of Clover’s washed out jeans and pulled him flush to him. “I’ll be sure to let the kids know. They helped doll me up with the shiny things.” He lifted up, using his other hand to pull Clover down by the neck so he could kiss him properly. “You look good to you know.”

“Hmm. As much as I would _really_ like to call the date done and drag you back home I’m pretty sure your murder would actually murder me if I didn’t show you off after all they did. Come on baby bird. Lets have some fun.”

Qrow laughed (blushing at the pet name) as he was dragged through the doors. He didn’t expect to win much against any of the games but he was certain he was still going to have fun as long as Clover was with him. Afterward they could get something to eat and then maybe ice cream. And if he pouted at Clover he could get some truffles for home for them to share before the man showed him just what he thought of how Qrow looked. The hunter grinned, looking forward to all of it. Even the teasing from the kids he was bound to get.

~

“They are an exceptional group of hunters.” James stood on the observation deck of the training room with Qrow as RWBY took on FNKI in another round. The Atlas team had yet to win but he gave them credit that they were determined. The former tribesman chuckled, giving his girls a fond, proud look.

“You have no idea Jimmy. One of these days we’re gonna have to get them to tell you about the double Grimm they took out on the way here. Or the possession Grimm they beat back at Beacon.”

The General raised his eyebrows at that, turning to look at his friend. Possession Grimm were incredibly rare. For them to have encountered one already and beaten it was indeed a sign of their higher abilities. Qrow smirked back, obviously not going to tell him more lest he spoil the kids fun telling the stories themselves. They both whipped back towards the field when a furious scream tore through the air. Hunter instincts long since ingrained in them had James going for his guns and Qrow dropping into a fighting stance as one hand flew to the handle of Harbinger. Below them Ruby and Blake were trying to hold Yang back while Weiss used a gravity glyph to help them. The pale girl was shouting at FNKI to go while her teammates tried to settle the blazing blond.

Without hesitating the ebony fighter leaped down, running closer as he took in every detail he could to figure out what was going on. By the time he’d reached the teenages he’d been able to spot the bright blue blotch in Yang’s hair. A bright blue that looked suspiciously like the gum Neon Katt had been chewing and blowing bubbles with at the start of the match. That explained why she was trying to murder the other team. For once he semblance wasn’t working against him because he made it just in time to tackle the brawler as she broke free of her team. She tried to buck him off but he had _years_ of sparing with her father and he stayed put.

“Calm down Firecracker! The more you thrash the deeper it’s gonna get. If you want it out you have to _hold still!_ ” He grunted as she tried again to throw him off of her and chase after the escaping team. She froze at his words, considering all he was and wasn’t saying.

“You can get it out without cutting it?” Her voice quavered with uncertainty and hope. It hurt him to hear her like that but he understood why. Her hair was an extension of her, it helped charge her semblance. Of course it was vitally important to her.

Moving cautiously the shape-shifter moved off of his eldest niece and helped her sit up, making sure to look her in the eyes when he spoke. “Yea. Your mom taught me this trick actually. Come on.” He stood up, offering her a hand and started to lead them out of the training room. He paused at the door, turning to face James. With a few hand motions he conveyed that the other should check on his team and then left the room to take care of the problem they’d left behind. Hopefully the headmaster in him would explain that chewing gum was not appropriate in combat _or_ in training. 

Nudging the four into the common room he took note of the occupants. Marrow (sitting on his hip in a chair because Qrow hadn’t figured out how to modify them yet) and Elm shared a concerned look at the fives expressions but Clover stood and took a step closer. Qrow cut him off before he could ask what was wrong. “Hey Lucky Charm, can you get some creamy peanut butter and paper towels please.”

“Yeah, sure.” The slightly bewildered Captain went into the kitchen to retrieve the items. 

Qrow brought his niece to the couch, sitting down and settling him behind her to assess the damage. Blake sat down next to Yang and took her hand while Weiss and Ruby went to the kitchen as well. When Clover brought the requested supplies Qrow opened the peanut butter and lifted up the soiled portion of hair. He applied the peanut butter to the underside to start with, allowing the oil to coat the golden threads and start loosening the hold of the sticky substance. Once the bottom was coated sufficiently he focused on the top part. While he was working Weiss showed up with tea for them all and Ruby shoved a plate of cookies in front of her sister on the coffee table. Holding back a chuckle at Ruby’s favorite solution to upsetting situations he focused on picking out the offending gunk. Yang’s voice cut into his concentration.

“Mom taught you to use peanut butter?” Yang’s voice was reassuringly calm as she reached out to take a cookie from the plate. It wasn’t often her little sister spared the treats for the rest of them. This was an event to be remembered.

Jolting slightly, Qrow looked up from his work to see six sets of curious eyes watching him. (Elm was a bit of a surprise but her and Vine had been making an effort to be more friendly so maybe it shouldn’t have been.) “Oh yeah. Said the oil in peanut butter separates the gum from the hair. Saved Tai’s life with that knowledge.”

 _“What?”_ Ruby looked so confused, he couldn’t help his laugh. The little cookie monster, unsurprisingly, had one in each hand even though she’d originally brought them out for Yang. He almost shook his head at her but smiled instead.

“Your dad accidently got gum in Raven’s hair once. It wasn’t long after we became a team so we weren’t close yet and still had a lot of issues to settle between us all. I don’t remember exactly how it got there but I do remember Raven trying to murder him for it with a pair of scissors. We didn’t know the trick back then so we all thought she’d have to cut her hair. It would have been nearly as short as mine but your mom stopped her from killing Tai and showed us how to get the gum out. He spent the next month trying to make it up to both of them. It was one of Summer’s first acts as leader outside of the battlefield that made us closer. Started turning us into a proper team. She was so happy about it.” He trailed off, memories drifting over him as he finished his work, pulling the last bits of offending blue out of the gold. “All done Firecracker. You’re good to wash the rest out.”

With a relieved breath Yang stood up, both Blake and Ruby holding her hands while she stood. Before she went to her quarters to clean up she turned to Qrow and wrapped him tightly in a hug. “Thank you Uncle Qrow.” 

“Of course Firecracker. Anytime.” He hugged her back then shooed her off to her rooms, turning to clean up the mess. Clover followed him into the kitchen and turned on the water for him, holding one hand over the soap pump for Qrow. When the shorter man disposed of the trash and held his hands under the pump he smiled in thanks for the help and washed his hands. By the time the two of them returned to the common room the teen girls were gone. Qrow shrugged and sat back down on the couch with Clover settling in next to him, one arm around his slender waist. Flashing his boyfriend and indulgent look he turned to the other two Specialits. “I wanted to ask you guys if you would be willing to join Penny in a few training lessons on controlling strength. She’s doing well on her own but I think she’d feel better about it if she wasn’t alone learning…”

“I’ll do it.” Marrow’s tail wagged, twapping quietly against the back of the couch. Qrow really needed to figure out how to fix it so the boy could sit normally instead of sideways. 

“What kind of training is it?” Elm asked, tossing a look at Marrow for his overeager agreement before even knowing what he was signing up for. 

“Basically it’s a kind of juggling with glass balls. They’re hollow though so you have to be gentle not to break them.” Qrow couldn’t fault her for her caution, though it was nice to know Marrow seemed to have so much trust in him. It probably hadn’t occurred to the other to ask if the training was dangerous. And not just because their lives were dangerous but because he didn’t think Qrow would put him in unnecessary danger. Given the treatment the young man faced as a faunus, that kind of faith in him was heartwarming.

“Oh, sounds like fun.” Clover squeezed his waist encouragingly, putting his vote in for the training. 

Elm had a pensive look on her face. Eventually she sighed. “Yeah. Honestly it couldn’t hurt for me to learn too…” 

Clover tensed next to him at the almost defeated tone. Qrow was quick to place a hand over the one resting on his hip, giving a squeeze back to settle the Captain. After having gotten to know the man he knew how he held himself responsible for his team. To suddenly realize that this is a problem Elm had been hiding for who knew how long probably struck a nerve. “I’ll send out a notice on our scrolls when I’m holding a session with her so you can join. I’m sure she’ll be thrilled. I’m going to be asking the kids if they wanna join too, just a heads up.”

The tall woman gave a grateful smile and nodded in appreciation for what he was doing before she turned back to her scroll, continuing whatever it was she’d been doing before they’d all entered. Marrow went back to playing his game on his scroll and Qrow curled more deeply into Clover’s side, turning his attention to the television show that his boyfriend had running. That had gone much better than he’d hoped. Now he just had to get Clover alone so he could reassure the taller man that he hadn’t failed his subordinates by not offering this kind of training sooner. Everything would work out.

~

“You want what?” Qrow squeaked out, eyes wide. 

“I want you to go with me to the ball as my date. Please Qrow. I’ll get on one knee to ask if I need to.” Clover stepped back and made a move like he was actually going to get down but Qrow grabbed his shoulders, face burning.

“No, no, no, no. Don’t you dare. If any of the kids see that we’re never going to hear the end of it.” He blew out a breath. “You seriously want me to go to a… a _political ball_ being held by Atlas snobs?” 

“No but I want you to go as my date so I can dance with you. The kind of ball or who throws it isn’t important.” Clover pressed a kiss to Qrow’s palm, coaxing him to sit down with him on the nearby couch.

Sighing in defeat Qrow leaned forward to press a kiss to Clover’s lips. “Okay. We can go and dance. But I don’t want to hear it if an accident happens.”

“I’ll make sure that nothing goes wrong.” The smile he was given was blinding as Clover pulled him into a deeper kiss, ignoring the sound of the kids coming down the hall. Knowing them they’d get a couple cat-calls or whistles- and a lot of pictures and videos. It was worth it though. Nothing was going to change his mind about that.

**Author's Note:**

> On the random chance that anyone is wondering about Clover's team Luna and Royal lived. Violet is the death he's remembering. The Team RWBY pillow fight is a reference to RWBY Chibi.


End file.
